Govt raps Team Anna for calling MPs ‘thieves’

The government came down
heavily on Team Anna, saying its criticism of Parliamentary
Standing Committee was a "clear case of breach of privilege"
and calling MPs "thieves" is equal to casting aspersion on
Parliament itself.

New Delhi: The government on Saturday came down
heavily on Team Anna, saying its criticism of Parliamentary
Standing Committee was a "clear case of breach of privilege"
and calling MPs "thieves" is equal to casting aspersion on
Parliament itself.

"The Parliamentary Standing Committee system has been
evolved so that it is going to be a mini Parliament. If
anybody criticises the Parliament Standing Committee, if they
cast aspersions on it, it is clearly a case of breach of
privilege," Minister of State for the PMO V Narayanasamy told
reporters here.

"If somebody says that Members of Parliament are `chor`,
that means that they are not only casting aspersion on the
MPs but on Parliament itself," he said reacting to the
questions on alleged remarks against the MPs by the supporters
of Anna Hazare who is spearheading a campaign against
corruption.

Narayanasamy said if anybody criticises the functioning
of the Standing Committee, then it is amounting to a criticism
of the MPs who are sitting there in the committee and it is
also "a clear case of breach of privilege".

Referring to the "several allegations" being made against
the MPs, the minister also agreed with the observations that
"there should be a `Lakshman rekha` for everybody".

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla
also said "there should definitely be a `Lakshman rekha` for
protest" while giving "a full freedom" to stage protest.

Asking to "respect the constitutional bodies", he said,
"to insult Parliament, its standing committee and to say that
all the MPs are `chor`, then the people of the country can
decide by listening to all this that who is arrogant and who
is not."